In a principal aspect, the present invention relates to containers, cup holders and trays for snack foods which may be utilized by placement in a cup holder in a vehicle or in the arm of a theatre seat, for example.
When attending a movie theatre, entertainment venue or when driving a vehicle, snack food items are often purchased by the patron or driver or otherwise made available. Placement of these snack foods in a sack or box, or other similar container may be distracting and may also be inefficient or cumbersome. As a consequence, various product designs to accommodate such issues have been proposed. For example, combined food and beverage containers and trays have been proposed as illustrated or disclosed in the following listing of patents:
Pat. No.InventorIssue DateTitle1,665,289WeaverApr. 10, 1928Means for Serving Food andDrink3,285,495ColatoNov. 15, 1966Reusable Food Package withIntegral Adjustable Closure3,288,344WoollenNov. 29, 1966Double Container Dispensinget al.PackageDes. 285,999LudwickOct. 07, 1986Combined Food and BeverageContainer4,779,998WischusenOct. 25, 1988Composite Bag-Like Package5,180,079JengJan. 19, 1993Combined Cup5,573,131BerjisNov. 12, 1996Apparatus for Forming aContainer to Holda Drinking Cup at theBottom End of theContainer and to HoldFood in the Upper Portionof the ContainerDes. 397,911WaldmannSep. 08, 1998Combined Beverage andSnack Holder6,182,890SattlerFeb. 06, 2001Collapsible Container forB1et al.Holding Foodstuffs, andMethods of Using Same
Such constructions typically call for the inclusion of a lower drink portion in the form of a cup and an upper snack food portion positioned over the lower portion. A straw typically provides access to the liquid lower portion. The upper portion typically includes an open top for manual access. Certain prior art patents suggest that a lower cup portion be shaped to fit into a cup holder.
Various other patents are directed to this general subject matter including the following:
Pat. No.InventorIssue DateTitlePublication No.Frank et al.Oct. 10, 2002Bottomless Bag2002/0145295  421,264GibbonsFeb. 11, 1890Party Plate1,881,416UhaltOct. 04, 1932Meal Serving Mat2,036,687C. FisherApr. 07, 1936Moistureproof Bag2,301,216KoontzNov. 10, 1942Bottle Holder3,148,636Bloomquist et al.Sep. 15, 1964Serving Tray3,401,858White et al.Sep. 17, 1968Service Tray3,422,986TilsethJan. 21, 1969Dish Lip Plate Attachment4,219,144HagelbergAug. 26, 1980Serving Tray4,461,396HarperJul. 24, 1984Combined Plates and GlassHolders4,534,469ElsmoAug. 13, 1985Tray Assembly4,607,758StevensAug. 26, 1986Serving Tray4,744,597Bauman et al.May 17, 1988Food and Beverage Tray4,836,970RobbinsJun. 06, 1989Method of Extrusion Blow-Molding Container Having Upperand Lower Sections of DifferentThickness4,989,742PowellFeb. 05, 1991Tray Apparatus5,100,607RobbinsMar. 31, 1992Blow-Molding Methods to FormContainers Having Upper andLower Sections of DifferentThickness5,111,960ZillioxMay 12, 1992Interlocking Plate and Cup Set5,184,750MollerFeb. 09, 1993Party Dish5,323,910van de Graaf, Jr.Jun. 28, 1994Party Plate5,390,798YanuzziFeb. 21, 1995Food and Beverage Support Traywith Beverage Vessel Cutout5,425,455Miller et al.Jun. 20, 1995Folding Lap Tray5,497,885SussmanMar. 12, 1996Lap Tray for Carrying Food5,542,577FriedrichAug. 06, 1996Plate Assembly Gripping Member5,780,824MatosJul. 14, 1998Expandable and Self-VentingNovelty Container for CookingMicrowave Popcorn6,021,914SchmidtFeb. 08, 2000Hors D'oeuvre Tray6,149,027RathjenNov. 21, 2000Combination Food Plate andBeverage-Container-HolderArticle6,382,449 B1Kazmierski et al.May 07, 2002Two Stage Cup6,586,715 B2WatkinsJul. 01, 2003Microwavable Container for FoodProducts and Method ofFabricating Same
Nonetheless, the availability of serving trays and cup holders for holding snack foods and/or retention thereof in a cup holder has been somewhat limited. The present invention is directed to various unique designs.